Apple Snickerdoodle Bars are the kind of cozy dessert that makes people think you’ve been baking all day in an apron—when really, you just stirred a few things in a bowl and tossed the pan in the oven when you got back from the coffee shop. Soft, chewy, and loaded with tangy apples, they’re like the greatest hits of every church cookbook bound up in buttery one square.
Bake a batch, cut them in generous squares, and watch them vanish into thin air as fast as the kids when you mention it's time to wash the dog.
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🗝️ Why you won't be sharing these snickerdoodle apple bars
Because sometimes you want the flavor of apple pie without signing up for a relationship with pie crust. These bars give you all the cinnamon-sugar payoff with none of the rolling pin drama. And they're easy to hide in the freezer in an old spinach box.
- Soft, chewy, and loaded with cinnamony-sugary apples in every bite.
- Bakes up in one pan like an apple pie-meets-snickerdoodles combo but no rolling pins, no pie crust drama.
- Disappears fast at potlucks, bake sales, or anywhere people can smell them.
- Makes your kitchen smell like fall moved in and started paying rent.
🧾 Stuff you'll need to make these apple bars
.These are the kind of ingredients every Southern kitchen keeps around, whether for Sunday cobbler or Wednesday crisis baking. Flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon, and a couple of apples the kids swore they would eat but didn’t. Don't you hate when that happens?
- Apples – preferably the ones your kids promised to eat and didn’t. I use a combination of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp
- Flour – all-purpose, the one that's on sale.
- Brown sugar – for that chewy, caramel-y bite.
- Cream of tartar – the snickerdoodle signature move.
- Baking soda – keeps the bars fluffy instead of sad and flat.
- Salt – because a pinch makes the sweet shine. I use kosher salt - if you use table salt use a little less.
- Butter – real, salted, unapologetic butter.
- Eggs – two of ‘em, no need to overthink it.
- Maple flavoring – a little autumn attitude.
- Sugar – whatever kind you usually buy unless it's something weird.
- Toffee bits – the secret crunch no one sees coming.
- Cinnamon – generous amounts, we’re not shy.
- Apple cider – just enough to whisper “fall is here.”
- Vanilla – the classic that ties it all together.
Want more tips, freezing tricks, and all the extra stuff we didn’t cram into this post? Download the free apple snickerdoodle bars kitchen cheat sheet—because you deserve recipes that come with backup.
📖 Recipe
Apple Snickerdoodle Bars
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon maple extract
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped peeled apples, I like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith
- 1 tablespoon apple cider, optional, for extra oomph
- ½ cup toffee bits
Topping:
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- Pinch ground chipotle, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper or spray the heck out of it with nonstick spray.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Whisk wet ingredients: In a large bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, maple extract, and apple cider (if using). Whisk until it looks like it could be cookie dough batter’s moody sister.
- Combine and fold: Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. Fold in the chopped apples and toffee bits with a rubber spatula. Don’t overmix unless you want a dense brick of sadness.
- Snickerdoodle the top: Spread the batter evenly into the pan. Mix the topping sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle generously over the top like a snickerdoodle fairy.
- Bake: 25–30 minutes or until the center is set and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs (not raw batter). The edges will puff and pull slightly from the pan.
- Cool and slice: Let cool completely in the pan for best slicing. Or go rogue and eat them warm with vanilla ice cream. I’m not your boss.
Notes
🔥 Temperature Breakdown:
- 190–194°F: Slightly underbaked. Still safe, still gooey, but may be too soft if you plan to slice cleanly.
- 195–200°F: Ideal. Fully set but still moist and chewy in the center.
- Over 200°F: You're flirting with sawdust bars. The edges will go crispy, and the middle will start to firm up past "chewy bar" and into "sad dry square."
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
🔪 How to make the best apple snickerdoodle bars ever
Making these bars is about as easy as it gets—no fancy mixer, no dramatic pastry skills required. You’ll just stir, spread, and bake until your kitchen smells like you’ve got a secret side hustle in fall desserts.
- Start with a big bowl and stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until it looks smooth and smug. Add the eggs, vanilla, maple extract, and apple cider, then whisk it like you’re trying to impress someone who bakes from scratch and labels their flour jars.
- In a separate bowl, mix up your dry ingredients like a responsible adult. Then dump that into the butter mixture and stir until it’s smoother than a Southern preacher on Sunday morning.
- Toss in the chopped apples and toffee bits and fold them in gently—no need to beat them up, they’ve done nothing wrong.
- Spread the batter into your greased baking dish like you mean it, then shower the top with cinnamon sugar like you’re trying to win a bake-off (because maybe you are). Bake until it’s golden, set, and your kitchen smells like fall and good decisions.
And if you accidentally eat the corner piece straight from the pan with a fork before they're cool? That’s not a mistake—it’s quality control.
👩🍳 Let’s answer the questions before your aunt does
Because someone always has opinions at the bake sale, and we prefer to be one step ahead of the passive-aggressive recipe feedback. Here's everything you might be wondering—and a few things you weren’t. You'll find more tips, faqs, and storage info in the printable kitchen cheat sheet above the recipe card.
Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!
I use a combination of apples for a deeper flavor. Granny Smiths for a little tang, Honeycrisps for extra sweet, or whatever’s about to go soft in your crisper drawer. We’re not judging your produce management skills.
I haven't tried. You can try it with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, but results may vary. This isn’t one of those “you’ll never know the difference” situations. It’ll still be good—just maybe not bring-it-to-the-bake-off good.
📚 If you liked this, you’ve got good taste
Here’s more cozy, cinnamon-sugar comfort to keep that oven busy. No fussy steps—just the kind of recipes that disappear before the pan cools.
Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars. All the chewy, cinnamon-sugar magic of classic snickerdoodles—baked in one pan. No rolling, no waiting, just slice-and-serve happiness.
Pumpkin Gooey Bars. Rich, spiced pumpkin meets buttery cream cheese filling in a dessert so good it should come with a warning label. Fall in a 9x13.
Old Fashioned Snickerdoodle Cookies. Soft, pillowy cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar and baked until crackly on top. Basically the reason milk was invented.
Apple Snickerdoodle Bars are proof that dessert doesn’t have to be complicated to taste like you went all out. Soft, chewy, and packed with cinnamon-sugar apples, they’re the kind of recipe that’ll get requested again before the pan is even washed. So go ahead—bake a batch, hide a few squares for yourself, and let everyone else fight over the crumbs.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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